Mark Stone made his return to the lineup Thursday night for the Vegas Golden Knights after missing five games with an upper-body injury that landed the team captain on injured reserve.
Stone’s absence began following a March 1 matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins, when he absorbed a hard check from veteran defenseman Kris Letang. The hit forced Stone to leave the game and ultimately sidelined one of Vegas’ most important players for nearly two weeks.
Ironically, Stone’s return came against the very same Penguins team involved in the play that caused the injury. His presence was immediately felt, as he resumed his usual spot on the Golden Knights’ top line at right wing alongside star center Jack Eichel and power forward Ivan Barbashev.
The Golden Knights struggled to maintain momentum during Stone’s absence, posting a 1–4 record over the five games he missed. The slide in form proved costly in a tightly contested National Hockey League Pacific Division race. Vegas dropped to third place during that stretch, falling behind the division-leading Anaheim Ducks and the second-place Edmonton Oilers.
Stone’s return comes at a critical point in the season as the Golden Knights attempt to regain ground in the standings and solidify their playoff positioning.
Before the injury, the 31-year-old captain was in the midst of another highly productive campaign. In just 43 games, Stone had already recorded 21 goals and 39 assists for 60 points, continuing to demonstrate the elite two-way play and offensive creativity that have defined his career. Beyond the numbers, Stone’s leadership, defensive instincts, and puck-retrieval ability remain central to Vegas’ identity.
When healthy, Stone forms one of the league’s most dangerous top-line trios with Eichel and Barbashev. The combination of Eichel’s speed and playmaking, Barbashev’s physical presence, and Stone’s hockey IQ gives Vegas a balanced and difficult matchup for opposing teams.
With their captain back in the lineup, the Golden Knights will hope the return of their emotional leader provides a spark as they push toward the final stretch of the regular season.
The Edmonton Oilers followed up two solid performances against the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche with a dud. Playing the Dallas Stars on Thursday night, Edmonton allowed a goal in the first few seconds of the game, then allowed six more to lose 7-2 in a feisty affair.
Zach Hyman, "We didn't have the greatest puck play tonight. We gave them a lot of free offense."
When it was clear Edmonton didn't have it offensively, and they weren't about to stop the Stars from scoring, the game got physical. There were several dust-ups and altercations. The closest thing to a fight was Connor McDavid, who got into a near-scrap with Justin Hryckowia.
When asked about McDavid standing up and throwing hands, "He's the last guy who should be doing that, to be honest," said Hyman. He added, "You saw him trying to pull our group back into the fight, Leon as well. We can do a better job as a team to push back... Obviously, when it's like that, you're frustrated.... We just got to be a lot better."
Knoblauch said McDavid was frustrated, and the Oilers' captain didn't like the slap shot taken at Draisaitl. The Oilers didn't love that McDavid felt the need to step up, and a few players made sure to back him up. Things really got interesting when Josh Samanski made a dangerous trip in a corner battle, and that got things going again.
The officials pulled players from both sides whenever the dust-ups broke out, probably saving the game from getting out of hand.
The Oilers Were Not Ready To Play
The Oilers weren’t ready to play, a fact reflected in the 10–4 shot advantage Dallas held in the first period. Edmonton’s early plays were riddled with mistakes and led to preventable goals against. The opening 20 minutes were an embarrassment for a team that looked completely unprepared.
Some will point the finger at Tristan Jarry, and it’s understandable given how poor his numbers look. You could even argue they’re atrocious. At the same time, blaming Jarry for the loss alone and the early deficit isn’t a fair assessment of the opening frame either.
The combination of Jarry allowing goals he probably could have stopped and not being ready to go, just like his teammates, is why Dallas took control early, and any thoughts the Oilers might stage a comeback were fleeting. Edmonton leaked scoring chance after scoring chance.
It started when Miro Heiskanen fired a point shot that ricocheted off the end boards, and Jarry couldn't find it in front before Jamie Benn, stashed it backhand for an early 1-0 lead. The second goal was a great pass by Duchene to Sam Steel. The third goal bounced off the post, then off the back of Jarry and in.
It was a quick three goals against, and things never really got better outside of a brief moment where the Oilers made it 5-2. That was as close as things got.
The reality is it was a combination of both. Jarry allowed goals he likely should have stopped and, like the rest of his teammates, didn’t look ready to start the game. That mix is exactly why Dallas seized control early and why any hope of an Oilers comeback quickly faded.
Was This Loss to the Stars A Minor Setback?
As far as the second of a back-to-back against St. Louis, Hyman said they played two good games, but tonight was an off one. He hinted that things would be different on Friday night.
Jason Strudwick said on the Got Yer’ Back podcast after the game that he doesn’t think the Oilers are trying as hard as they can. “I think they’ve got their governor on,” he said. He admitted that might be an optimistic view, and that it gives what has looked like a mediocre team a lot of credit. Oilers fans are certainly hoping he’s right.
If Edmonton can rebound and beat the Blues, this loss to Dallas might look like a blip in an otherwise solid week. However, if Edmonton loses to St. Louis and fails to show up again, the two games against Vegas and Colorado might be seen as the outliers.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and an assist to lead the New York Rangers to a 6-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.
Adam Edstrom, Gabe Perreault, Tye Kartye and Adam Fox also scored, and Noah Laba added an empty-net goal for New York, which scored five goals on only 16 shots. Igor Shersterkin stopped 24 shots.
Gabriel Vilardi, Kyle Connor and Isak Rosen scored for Winnipeg. Connor Hellebuyck made 11 saves as the Jets slipped to 3-2 on their eight-game homestand.
The Rangers scored goals 4:11 apart in the third to take a 5-3 lead. Perreault gave New York the edge when he shoveled the puck past Hellebuyck at 6:57. Edstrom beat Hellebuyck from in front at 11:08.
The Rangers led 1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3. Every time Winnipeg tied the score, New York re-took the lead, taking advantage of getting players in front of the net.
The Rangers opened the scoring 68 seconds into the game. Only nine seconds after Winnipeg’s Gabe Vilardi took a hooking penalty, Fox scored on a shot from the blue line.
Rosen tied it at 1 early in the second with his first goal as a member of the Jets, deflecting a shot from the point past Shesterkin.
Lafreniere gave New York a 2-1 lead when he deflected a point shot from Will Borgen past Hellebuyck.
Connor tied it at 2 late in the second, taking a pass from Mark Schiefele, then beating Fox and lifting the puck over Shesterkin.
New York took a 3-2 lead early in the third when Kartye deflected a pass from Matthew Robertson past Hellebuyck 1:15 into the period.
Vilardi made it 3-all about three minutes after New York had taken the lead, scoring on a backhanded shot off an Adam Lowry rebound.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Rangers are playing some of their best hockey at the worst time.
Development and draft lottery odds should be the name of the Rangers’ game with just 17 contests remaining on the 2025-26 season schedule, but the meaningless matchups — like their 6-3 win over the Jets Thursday night — have seemingly done wonders for the team psyche.
Despite a tight 60-minute affair at Canada Life Centre, the Rangers pulled away with a three-goal third period to pick up their fifth win in their last seven games and their third in a row for the first time since November.
Gabe Perreault extended his point streak to three games with the game-winning goal.
Adam Edstrom scored his first goal since returning from a 33-game absence due to injury to add insurance.
Gabe Perreault, who scored the game-winning goal later in the game, watches Adam Fox’s shot get past Connor Hellebuyck during the Rangers’ 6-3 road win over the Jets on March 12, 2026. AP
The Rangers haven’t felt this good about their game maybe all season long.
For the second time in the last three games, the Rangers were the team to strike early.
A hooking call on Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi brought a relatively hot Rangers power play out onto the ice less than a minute into the game.
Igor Shesterkin makes a shoulder save during the Rangers’ road win over the Jets. Getty Images
Adam Fox then opened the scoring with a shot from the top of the zone, marking his first power-play goal since Dec. 31.
The Rangers went on to finish 1-for-2 with the man-advantage on the night.
One of the newest Jets players, Isak Rosen, responded for Winnipeg early in the second period.
After landing in Winnipeg as part of the deal that sent Luke Schenn to the Sabres, Rosen scored his first as a Jet on Thursday to even up the score against the Rangers.
Alexis Lafrenière continued on the heater he’s been on since Artemi Panarin was first scratched before his eventual trade to Los Angeles.
Tipping in a Will Borgen shot for the 2-1 lead, Lafrenière notched his sixth goal in the last five games, as well as his ninth in the last 10.
The Rangers had a third one-goal lead squandered early in the third period.
Tye Kartye redirected a feed from Matthew Robertson for his fifth goal of the season and second as a Ranger, but the advantage only lasted just over three minutes.
Vilardi made up for the power-play goal that was scored on his team when he was in the box earlier in the game, burying a rebound past Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin for the 3-3 score.
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — John Beecher scored his first two goals for Calgary, and Mikael Backlund recorded his 600th career NHL point with a third-period goal in the Flames’ 5-4 win over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.
Former Devils Kevin Bahl and Yegor Sharangovich each also scored for Calgary. Dustin Wolf made 26 saves, and the Flames blocked 21 shots, claiming just their second win in their past eight games.
Luke Hughes had one goal and one assist, and Jack Hughes, Maxim Tsyplakov and Simon Nemec each scored for New Jersey. Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves and had an assist.
Beecher, who was a healthy scratch the past two games, had his first career short-handed goal less than one minute into the second period.
With Calgary up 2-1, he stole the puck from Jack Hughes in the neutral zone then banked his rebound in off Markstrom after the Devils goalie stopped Beecher’s initial shot.
Nemec cut the Flames’ advantage to 3-2 less than a minute later with a power-play goal. But Sharangovich, who played his first 205 games over three seasons with the Devils before being traded to the Flames in 2023, buried a backhand shot on a two-on-one that boosted Calgary’s lead to 4-2.
After Beecher scored on a two-on-one break, Bahl made it 2-0 at 14:07 of the first period – scoring on Markstrom, for whom he was traded on June 19, 2024.
Tsyplakov answered at 16:14 for his first goal in 11 games with the Devils since they acquired him Jan. 27, cutting Calgary’s lead to 2-1.
The Flames had dropped four straight road games prior to Thursday.
TORONTO (AP) — William Nylander broke a tie on a power play 36 seconds into the third period and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Anaheim Ducks 6-4 on Thursday night to end an eight-game losing streak.
The victory was tempered by the loss of captain Auston Matthews on a knee-on-knee hit from Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas with four minutes left in the second period. Matthews stayed down favoring his left leg before being helped to the locker room. Gudas was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct.
Matthews scored earlier to end a 12-game goal drought.
Matias Maccell had a goal and two assists, and John Tavares and Benoit-Olivier Groulx also scored. Matthew Knies had three assists to go along with an empty-net goal, and Nylander added two assists. Joseph Woll made 36 saves.
Cutter Gauthier, Ian Moore, Pavel Mintyukov and Alex Killorn scored for Pacific Division-leading Anaheim. Lukas Dostal stopped 22 shots.
The Maple Leafs are 1-6-2 since the Olympic break to sink any realistic hope of a 10th straight playoff appearance. They won at home for the first time since Jan. 10.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Reinhart scored 2:20 into overtime to lift the Florida Panthers over the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Thursday night.
Sam Bennett also scored for the Panthers. His power-play wrist shot 1:28 into the third period sent the game to overtime. Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves in the win for the Panthers.
Adam Fantilli scored for the Blue Jackets, and Elvis Merzlikins had 19 saves.
The Blue Jackets dominated the first two periods, outshooting the Panthers 24-10. Florida came back strong in the third period and dominated in overtime.
Reinhart scored his team-leading 29th goal of the season on the power play. Matthew Tkachuk assisted on Reinhart’s goal, giving him three goals and four assists over his last four games.
The Panthers played without Brad Marchand, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe.
Up next
Blue Jackets: Wrap up a three-game road trip at Philadelphia on Saturday.
Panthers: Begin a four-game road trip at Seattle on Sunday.
While the shorthanded Detroit Red Wings didn't play a poor road game by any means, they didn't get the bounces needed to take down a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Tampa dealt the Red Wings, who were shorthanded without Dylan Larkin, Andrew Copp, and David Perron, a 4-1 setback. It was their third regulation loss in their last four games.
However, they remain in the first Wild Card playoff position in the Eastern Conference thanks to the 4-2 loss by the Boston Bruins (WC2) to the San Jose Sharks.
Following a scoreless opening 20 minutes of play, the Lightning struck first early in the second period thanks to Jake Guentzel, who was a teammate of Larkin's for Team USA's successful gold medal run last month.
Tampa then scored again early in the third period, as a shot from Brayden Point deflected off Ben Chiarot and then off the skate of Gage Goncalves, giving them a 2-0 lead.
Detroit was able to break the shutout attempt of Andrei Vasilevskiy after J.T. Compher, who was elevated to the top center position, got his stick on a shot from Alex DeBrincat.
Minutes later, Patrick Kane had a glorious opportunity at the side of the net after taking a feed from Compher, but his shot missed wide right by a foot and hit the outside netting of the goal.
Point then managed to beat Gibson on a screen shot in the waning minutes of regulation, restoring Tampa's two-goal lead. Guentzel then added his second goal of the evening with Gibson on the bench for an extra attacker.
Gibson finished with 24 saves, the same number of saves Vasilevskiy finished with.
To compensate for the absences of Larkin and Copp, the Red Wings called up forwards from the Grand Rapids Griffins, including Sheldon Dries, who played for the first time since 2023 while he was with the Colorado Avalanche.
He played 10:16 of total ice time and had two shots.
The Red Wings will conclude their road trip on Saturday evening with a stop in Dallas to face the Stars.
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While the NHL trade deadline ended on March 6th, another hockey deadline was still a week away: the AHL deadline. The AHL trade deadline is different from the NHL's, as its official deadline ends March 13th, which is tomorrow. Last Friday, the Kings and Senators made a trade involving Warren Foegele, who went from Los Angeles to Ottawa.
The Trade
The official trade is that the LA Kings acquire forward Jan Janik in exchange for defenseman Samuel Bolduc. The trade is a one-for-one, and both players will remain in the AHL as of now.
Jan Janik, this season with the Belleville Senators, has played in 41 games, registering 9 goals, 8 assists, and 17 points. In his NHL career, the 26-year-old has played 24 games, recording 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points.
The Kings are trading away Samuel Bolduc, who this season has played in 56 games for the Ontario Reign, recording 5 goals and 16 assists for 21 points. In the NHL, he has played 52 games, recording 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points.
Ontario Reign
With the LA Kings fighting for a playoff spot, the Ontario Reign are the opposite, as they currently sit atop the Pacific Division with 79 points. In the overall AHL league standings, the Ontario Reign are 4th, only behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Providence Bruins, and Grand Rapids Griffins.
Leading the Ontario Reign is Glenn Gawdin, who has 44 points in 57 games and leads the team in points. 25-year-old Andre Lee leads the Ontario Reign with 23 goals this season and has 40 points.
There is a good chance the Kings and the Reign make the playoffs in their respective leagues, and while it seems pretty likely the Reign will make it, it will come down to the final couple of games to see if the Kings can make it in.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jimmy Snuggerud scored twice to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 3-1 win over the Eastern Conference-leading Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night.
Snuggerud scored a tying goal in the second period and added a go-ahead score in third for the Blues, who were coming off an overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Jordan Binnington starred for St. Louis, stopping 31 of the 32 shots he faced. Pavel Buchnevich scored his 15th of the season into an empty net in the final minute and Dylan Holloway assisted on both goals by Snuggerud, who has been on a offensive tear recently as the Blues won for the sixth time in eight games.
Snuggerud had his fourth straight multi-point game and scored in his fourth straight. The 21-year-old forward had a goal and two assists against the Islanders after recording a goal and assist in wins over Anaheim and San Jose. He has 15 goals and 19 assists in 53 games.
Mark Jankowski scored for the Hurricanes, who had their 12-game home points streak halted. Brandon Bussi made 14 saves.
Carolina, which entered having won three of their last four games and eight of their last 10, dominated at the outset, outshooting the Blues 13-2 in the first period.
Jankowski scored his seventh of the season after making a steal at center ice, moving around the Blues' Tyler Tucker and beating a sliding Binnington with a high shot for a 1-0 lead.
Snuggerud tied the game less than four minutes into the second period, beating Bussi with a snap shot from the high slot. He added the tiebreaking goal with just under five minutes remaining in the third period, sending a shot beneath Bussi's blocker from close range.
Up next
Blues: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.
Hurricanes: At the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 07: Ilya Samsonov #35 of the Vegas Golden Knights makes a save as Blake Lizotte #46 of the Pittsburgh Penguins looks for a rebound in the first period of their game at T-Mobile Arena on March 07, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Calgary Flames continued their road swing with a stop in the Garden State on Thursday night and came away with a solid 5–4 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
It was a memorable night for several Flames players. John Beecher delivered his best performance since joining the club with a two-goal outing, Kevin Bahl added his fourth of the season, Yegor Sharangovich tallied his 14th, and captain Mikael Backlund reached a major milestone by recording the 600th point of his NHL career. Between the pipes, Dustin Wolf turned aside 27 Devils chances to secure the win.
Calgary wasted little time getting on the board. On just their second shot of the game, Beecher opened the scoring at 5:04 of the first period. The Flames forward carried the puck into the zone on a partial odd-man rush and elected to shoot, slipping a shot through former Flames goaltender Jakob Markstrom on the blocker side. The goal marked Beecher’s first as a Flame in his 31st game with the club, with Matvei Gridin picking up his fifth assist of the season on the play.
The Flames doubled their lead later in the period thanks to a strong sequence at the blue line. Bahl kept the puck alive in the offensive zone before the play cycled to Olli Maatta, who quickly returned the puck to Bahl for a booming one-timer at 14:07. The defenceman’s fourth of the season made it 2–0, with Adam Klapka also earning an assist.
New Jersey pushed back before the period ended. A turnover in front of the Calgary net created an opportunity for Maxim Tsyplakov, whose shot deflected off traffic in front and slipped past Wolf at 16:24 to cut the Flames lead to 2–1.
Late in the opening frame, Joel Hanley was assessed a four-minute high-sticking penalty, giving the Devils an extended power play that carried into the second period.
Instead, Calgary struck first when play resumed.
Just 54 seconds into the second, Beecher forced a turnover deep in the Devils zone and drove the net. His initial attempt was stopped by Markstrom, but Beecher followed up his own rebound and banked the puck in to restore the Flames’ two-goal advantage at 3–1.
New Jersey responded moments later on the same power play. After Luke Hughes’ shot created a scramble in front, Simon Nemec located the loose puck and pushed it past Wolf at 1:36 to make it a one-goal game again.
The Flames answered before the period ended with a well-executed rush. Ryan Strome led a two-on-one and slid the puck across to Sharangovich, who shifted to his backhand and lifted the puck over Markstrom to make it 4–2 heading into the third.
Calgary’s captain added a milestone marker early in the final frame. Backlund walked into the slot at 4:10 and snapped a shot past Markstrom to extend the lead to 5–2. The goal not only gave the Flames some breathing room, but it also marked career point number 600 for the longtime Calgary forward.
The Devils managed one more push late in the period. Jesper Bratt spotted Jack Hughes jumping onto the ice during a line change, and Hughes stepped into the play before wiring a wrist shot past Wolf to trim the deficit to 5–3.
Luke Hughes added a late powerplay tally, but that would be as close as New Jersey would get, as Calgary closed things out to secure the road victory.
The Flames have been waiting for a night like this from John Beecher. The former first-round pick showed the full package with two goals, strong defensive play, and key penalty-killing work.
Maatta Making the Most of His Opportunity
Olli Maatta continues to settle in nicely since arriving via trade from Utah. The veteran defenceman added another assist and now has three helpers in his first four games with Calgary.
Backlund Reaches 600 Points
Another milestone for the Flames captain. With his third-period goal, Mikael Backlund recorded the 600th point of his NHL career, further cementing his long-standing legacy in Calgary.
The Florida Panthers are starting to string some wins together, hoping that their effort is not too little, too late.
Florida once again had to come from behind, erasing a third-period deficit and taking down the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 in overtime on Thursday night in Sunrise.
It was a quiet evening on the scoreboard, with both teams struggling to light the lamp until well into the night.
Columbus finally got on the board just over 13 minutes into the second period.
After a failed Florida 2-on-1 attempt while killing the final seconds off a Donovan Sebrango interference penalty, the Blue Jackets took advantage of the quick transition and went on an odd-man rush of their own.
Entering Florida’s zone on a 3-on-1, Adam Fantilli carried the puck into the right circle and instead of passing, wound up and fired a shot that went past Sergei Bobrovsky and into the net with 6:59 remaining in the middle frame.
The Blue Jackets carried that lead into the third period, but an early power play for Florida led to the game-tying tally.
A shot by Sam Reinhart was partially blocked and ended up hitting Sam Benentt in the chest at the back post.
Bennett quickly swatted the puck into the back of the net, knotting the score at one at the 1:28 mark of the final frame.
That’s how the score would remain through the end of regulation.
Florida would pick up the bonus point during overtime, once again cashing in on the power play.
The play started with the puck on the stick of rookie Mike Benning, who was playing in his first NHL game.
Benning fed Matthew Tkachuk in the right circle, and his centering pass went through the slot and all the way to Sam Reinhart at the goal line.
Reinhart saw an opening and fired a sharp-angle shot past a sprawling Elvis Merzlikins, giving Florida their third straight victory.
For Benning, he picked up his first NHL point on the game-winning goal in his first NHL game.
Photo caption: Dec 6, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) makes a save on a shot tipped by Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett (9) during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. (Jim Rassol-Imagn Images)
The incident occurred in the latter stages of the second period, shortly after Matthews − who captained the United States men's hockey team to the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics − scored his first goal for the Leafs since Jan. 27. Matthews had gotten the puck alone in front of the net and a hard-charging Gudas drove right through the American star, Gudas' left leg taking out Matthews' left.
Matthews, 28, immediately clutched at his leg and needed assistance to get off the ice. Gudas, a 35-year-old veteran defenseman, was assessed a 5-minute major for kneeing and a 10-minute game misconduct, ending his night.
Radko Gudas has been ejected from the game for kneeing and Auston Matthews has gone to the dressing room. pic.twitter.com/wTiR9t7Tzw
The Leafs announced that Matthews would not return to the game due to a lower-body injury.
The Maple Leafs won 6-4, cashing in twice on the 5-minute power play brought on by Gudas' hit.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube called Gudas' hit a "dirty play." He didn't have any updates on Matthews' status, saying Matthews would be "looked at tomorrow."
